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Search for Weapons of Mass Destruction is Over

Washington - The White House acknowledged Wednesday that its hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, a two-year search costing millions of dollars, has closed down without finding the stockpiles that President Bush cited as a justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein. Bush's spokesman said the president had no regrets about invading Iraq.

A fundamental question that is repeatedly asked is whether or not the United States would have invaded Iraq knowing that WMD would not be found.

"Based on what we know today, the president would have taken the same action because this is about protecting the American people," said Press Secretary Scott McClellan.

Politically, this is the safest position for the Whitehouse to take but is it an accurate one? Without WMD did Saddam pose a significant and imminent threat?

If the answer to the first question is "no, the U.S. would not have invaded", a second question is whether or not the U.S. is culpable for invading on the basis of incorrect intelligence. One of the the revelations of the Duefler Report is the significant deception Saddam employed to make other nations and his own generals believe that he had WMD [more]. Previously I concluded,

If Saddam did indeed portray Iraq as having WMD he testified against himself to the peril of his own nation and people. He wanted the world to believe he had WMD and was capable of using them. The U.S. and 30 other countries believed him and acted upon Saddam's misinformation. Who bears the blame for Saddam's deceit? It would seem, based on Deut. 19 that it is Saddam.

[HT: Joshua Claybourn in the Agora]

Update - Bush: Iraq Invasion Worth It Despite No Trace of WMD

Posted by tim at January 13, 2005 12:18 AM

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